| Author |
 Topic  |
|
tw_fester
Senior Member
Canada
1161 Posts |
 Posted - 21 Jan 2008 : 00:48:10
|
I agree VD...I think they quite well with Sturm. The voice, the willingness to support the honour of himself and his friends. Maybe a bit "trigger" happy but still willing to support friends.
Cause we've got rocks and trees
and trees and rocks
and rocks and trees
and trees and rocks
and rocks and trees
and trees and rocks
and rocks and trees
and....Waterrrrrr
Rocks and Trees – Arrogant Worms
Besides... that dagger was Flint's. |
 |
|
|
cyr55
Starting Member
2 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jan 2008 : 19:14:06
|
There were positives..which is why I'm posting the review here instead of the negative review thread to flip out that Otik's spiced potatoes didn't get into the movie (I saw that somewhere here).
First off, let me say that I really liked the old horribly done Hobbit and Return of the King cartoons from the 70's. They were massively flawed, but the songs were great and the drama and voice acting were great. I don't know why people have such hatred for those cartoons.
Positives for DOAT:
1. The music which completely saves the movie from being a saturday morning cartoon was just so well done it was almost out of place.
2. I actually had no problem with most of the animation and the combo of 3D and 2D was pulled off better than I expected.
3. Save for some memorable quotes from the book being changed, I thought the script was good considering what they had to do to condense it and make it understandable to people who weren't familiar with the material.
Negatives:
1. The facial animation (which is vital) was brutal. Tanis being beaten up by a draconian with his face contorted was one example. Laurana looking like a go-go dancer instead of the most breathtakingly beautiful woman in the world was another.
2. Keifer was lame, Lex Luthor as Tanis was so much worse. I've read the books literally 30+ times (pathetic I know). I don't know how I missed it that Tanis was channeling Dawson from Dawson's Creek. Of course it makes more sense for why Laurana was channeling Joey.
3. Onyx sounding like a 13 year old girl, Caramon sounding more Homer Simpson than Conan, and the draconians sounding very pedestrian without a hint of hissing.
4. Flint had the same cliche'd irrelevance of Gimli from LOTR.
5. I wish they made a point of emphasizing that Fizban was driving the whole scene at the Inn. Like going from being mesmerized by Goldmoon to ratting her out to the guards would have been good.
6. I didn't care for the whole Takhisis vs. Paladine scene at the end. He could have done that at any time and made her retreat. Why did he need to wait until everyone was just about dead?
7. I never pictured the Qualinesti elves as peasants so I don't know why they were dressed as such. There was little to no detail at all in Qualinesti, which made the beautiful Hymn much more out of place.
Overall, I enjoyed it in the same way I enjoyed the bad LOTR Bass-Rankin cartoons from the 70's. I had very low expectations for this movie and I got pretty much what I expected. I never expected detailed "Snow White" quality 2D animation here, but I did expect the voice acting to carry the movie, which it clearly didn't. I think the movie succeeded in giving a good action film with some familiar fantasy cliches. We just needed Eric the Paladin and Bobby the Barbarian to jump in somewhere for a cameo :)
Whereas many people seem to have a problem with how much was left out, I really think they should have cut out more side plots (like Tanis' identity crisis and his infatuation with Kitiara) so that it could have been more streamlined and provided better character development without trying to throw everything angle in haphazardly.
Will I watch this movie again? Probably not.
Does the movie tarnish the books? Of course not.
Will there be a sequel? Sure. Indian outsourcing is cheap enough. You just won't have most of the same voice actors...which would be a good thing.
In the end though I enjoyed watching it and am happy that it exists and I got to see it, as opposed to there never having been a translation to film. Yes it's massively flawed, but enjoyable on some level as well. Objectively speaking, it's a mess. But I'm pretty sure no one reading this is objective anyway.
Now someone needs to go butcher a Belgariad movie!!!!! 
|
Edited by - cyr55 on 21 Jan 2008 19:17:07 |
|
|
|
fingersmcoy
Starting Member
USA
6 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2008 : 12:59:22
|
I really hope people will read these positive comments. There are way too many negative ones. I think the animation isn't that good, but all in all, the effort was good enough. I think there are a couple ofpoints that people need to remember when watching this movie.
1. No movie is as good as the book. The movie can only be ninety minutes or so. In the book, we learned to love each character. There just wasn't enough time in the movie to get to know eight people! There never is in a movie.
2. This was a cartoon. In cartoons, real life human drama is very hard to portray. Facial expressions cannot be done properly and the like.
AS I said before, the movies seemed a bit rushed, but it had to be. There was no time to dwell on the character building like the book did. That is why movies made into books are never as good. Having said that, I think the movie was definately worth seeing. It covered the story line pretty closely, and the music did bring a lot of emotion into it. Hopefully, there will be a live action movie made of it next.
That is the last point I want to make, really quick. I remember when Family Guy was cancelled. So many people bought and rented Family Guy DVD's that they brought it back. That is what will hopefully happen here. Enough people buy it, they decide they will make a real movie of the rest of the books. I know, we don't NEED movies, the books will always be in our hearts. I would just like to see ONE Dragonlance movie made with real actors and actresses. Don't you agree?
|
|
|
|
KenderSurprise
Starting Member
36 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2008 : 14:34:19
|
quote:
Originally posted by fingersmcoy
1. No movie is as good as the book. The movie can only be ninety minutes or so. In the book, we learned to love each character. There just wasn't enough time in the movie to get to know eight people! There never is in a movie.
Good point! I was trying to think of an example to contradict this and I can't think of a single one. Most people were going to be disappointed anyway no matter how good or bad the movie was because it will never be as good as the vision we all have in our heads.
As bad as the movie was I want to say SOMETHING positive about it. Probably the fact that Raistlin got so much screen time. I think he ended up with a larger percentage of screen time in the movie than he did in the book. Perhaps the makers of the movie actually did do a little research and figured out that Raist is the deepest and most popular character.
Anyway, if kids really are going to be the saviors of this movie - do you think that the PG-13 rating and Keifer Sutherland's recent jail time will hurt that chance? |
|
|
|
Fizban Who
Moderator
USA
32527 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2008 : 23:01:55
|
I watched this movie at least 3 times since I received it. The first two times and was just out of enjoyment in seeing the ‘Hero’s of the Lance’ “come to life”
I like it very much from that point of view. And yes, it did move very rapidly through the story. As we all know 90min. can barely do 1/3rd of the book. My sister (who is a DL fan) and her daughters like it and now my nieces want to read the books.
Although we did crack up at ‘the three legged (or was it four?), three arm Strum, not to mention the other small flaws in the art.
The Music of course was fantastic. The voice good too, a couple of them I had to get use to. All in all, I’m glad I got the DVD. I got an extra one for my sis for Christmas, and she was quite happy about it.
'NUFF SAID'
The single most dangerous thing in all of Krynn is to hear a Kender say "oops".
Fizban Who? |
|
|
|
dragontattooist
Junior Member
United Kingdom
170 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2008 : 13:36:24
|
wow. Not many pages to the positive thread, which is kinda disturbing. I think so many people were set up for this film to be awful that they dont see whats good about it.
First of all, I think everyone agrees that the music was great. Sheer briliance although it sounded off with the poorer standard animation. I will be buying the soundtrack.
For the most part, the film stuck to the story. Things were omitted but the general plot came across well. Lines were left in "run? from this rabble?", the only bit I really wanted to see was , "Besides, that dagger was flints!" It was there but it wasnt right.
Raistlin was awesome. Almost exactly as I imagined him to be. There was no mention of raist and caramon being twins :/ but Raists "hatred" of his brother was portrayed quite well. Caramon was good also and sturm, tasslehoff....the only people I didnt like was riverwind and flint.
The animation, despite the massive bloopers, was a lot better than I thought it was going to be. The merging of 2d and 3d looked alot better than it did on the trailers.
Hopefully, this has started the ball rolling for something great. Hold faith people, its the only thing that can destory the darkness ^^
Like fantasy, powerful mages, dragons, that kind of thing?
http://www.freewebs.com/thelightestdark |
|
|
|
canyouseethemoon
Starting Member
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jan 2008 : 06:06:52
|
Could the movie have better....of course. But it is what it is. I really dont see anyone trying to remake the first book, so we have to deal with it as it is.
To agree with most here, it was great to finally have a movie. And we have it; good, bad or indifferent. The characters did in fact resemble what they do in the books as artwork is concerned. I was doubtful on how well Lucy Lawless would perform as Goldmoon, but she pulled it off nicely. Tanis, I think was a bit more sissified than in the books. Tas was a good effort. I think his addition as the comic relief failed in the movie.
I suppose I could point out every flaw. Its easy to point out flaws than the positives. I do believe the funding for the movie was slim or else we would have had something to seriously rival LOTR. With any luck, the movie will inspire more book sales and perhaps the next will have a bigger budget to make something spectacular.
|
|
|
|
IraShaine1972
Starting Member
USA
1 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jan 2008 : 15:00:02
|
Well I read the reviews for the movie since it came out and I was pretty bummed by what I read. So basically I rented this movie to see how truly bad it was. By the way I too am one of those longtime DL fans. Since the modules were first released we collected them and played them and when the books came out we devoured them. Some 20+ years ago. Anyways...........So I sat down and watched it with some pretty low expectations. Given the budget and time constraints I never expected alot anyways. Well I for one didnt think it was all that bad. I was bummed that the Riverwind death was left out. However most key elements were there. The animation could have been a little better quality. It was clunky at times. I got the impression that the movie suffered more from a lack of budget than anything else and I also walked away feeling like it was a great step in the right direction towards getting D&D based stories closer to the big screen.
I really felt like the makers probably did everything they could with what they had to work with. I wont compare this to LotR as there is no comparison. I would be more inclined to compare it to say the Spawn animated series. There is something that was fun to watch but slaughtered the spawn premise.
I guess what I am trying to say is that while the quality of the movie reflects more a lack of capitol than anything else the effort to make this movie and the finished product was for me worth it. I really found myself just pleased to see a Dragonlance story come to life. I dont see why so many longtime DL fans are so critical and negative. I cant imagine how ANYBODY could have expected this to be some sort of epic movie given the budget and the length. Given that I am one of those longtime fans ( I was playing D&D way before the Krynn setting was introduced) I was pleased with the movie. I guess instead of walking in with low expectations maybe I had realistic expectations. I really hope that this is only the beginning. I think the animated movie is a great experiment in bringing these stories further to life. I just think its a great step in the right direction. My sincere hope is that this movie will raise enough money to push forward with bigger and better projects. Longer running time, better quality animation, more plot development of the original stories (longer running time would definetly be the key there). Overall given what they had to work with I give the movie a thumbs up and am optimistic as to what this could lead to in the future.
Ira Clements |
|
|
|
Gemsamay
Member
Germany
970 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2008 : 01:56:15
|
I am again surprised that I don't see a whole lot of familiar posters in this thread. As I said in the negative thread, I didn't read a lot of reviews because they are people I don't know. I guess to me it feels like stopping someone on the street and saying "what movie should I watch tonight?" Although reading strangers being positive about my movie (yes I always call it "my" movie!) is much easier than reading them bash it.
I LOVED the music!
I LOVED the opening. It gave me even more tingles! (I already had them when I sat down to watch it haha)
Goldmoon was spot on. Everything about her was perfect. When they were talking to the "monks" in the beginning and she says "I am the bearer of the blue crystal staff" my fiance was like "Aaaarrgghhh stupid woman!" which cracked me up because every time I read the book I say the EXACT same thing. It was nice to see someone who didn't know what was going to happen had the same thought.
The voice acting was very well done in general. Yes Flint was generic but I can't come up with a way to make him sound like a UNIQUE grumpy dwarf. Is that even possible?? Tanis was perfect acting-wise.
I loved the character designs of Tanis, Goldmoon, Riverwind, Tika, Onyx and Raistlin. Though I think Raistlin's eyes were under-done, the rest was great.
They did a good job making Metafleur old and sick looking. I wasn't sure how they would translate that visually but they did it well.
OMG!! I didn't see Berem!! Well done movie-makers!
And finally, I LOVED the adaptation of the ending. Although I thought the "unwavering faith" stuff was a little cheesy and preachy. I liked how they revealed Fizban as Paladine, even though it's not in the book. They kept the ending open just enough so that they can make the next books into movies too. But they made it conclusive enough that if they don't, people won't be scratching their heads.
I also love hearing that people's children are liking it. My fiance and mother-in-law were unimpressed but they are not sci-fi people. (I know, what kind of family am I marrying in to! shame on me!)
____________________________
 Brought to you by your friendly neighborhood bar wench!
and her trusty sidekick!
Save the Earth, it's the only place with wine and chocolate!
|
|
|
|
Slorg
Moderator
Australia
996 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jan 2008 : 02:57:32
|
I find it interesting in that many of the members who were certain they'd hate the movie ended up liking it, and many who were certain they'd love it ended up being underwhelmed.
Although I think the majority of us agree with what went wrong, it bothers some of us more than others.
It exceeded my (low) expectations and kept me amused for 90 minutes, which is good enough for me (for now).
Before arguing with a moderator, look here: http://www.dragonlance-movie.com/forum/go/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=74 |
|
|
|
Blaed
Starting Member
USA
26 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 07:59:52
|
this has probably been said already but i think it bears repeating. It wasn't that bad. sure things seemed a little off here and there, could have used another 3 months of cleaning up things. other than that it gave an interesting twist to the story we had already memorized. i never expected Khisanth's human form to be so HOT for one! Thought the music was on spot (I think it's his best career work in comparision to the work i heard from site). Animation was pretty good and surprisingly expressive in some scenes. We all have our stepping stone now. lets get to the next ones! |
|
|
|
Darius
Starting Member
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - 30 Jan 2008 : 23:31:54
|
| What I find hilarious, is that all throughout the POSITIVE thread are very negative yet subtle hints in nearly every post. I liked this part, but it should have this way or that way etc. but hey what's true is true. I liked the movie myself, but I definitely thought that it could have been portrayed better. |
|
|
|
tonkatough
Member
Australia
561 Posts |
Posted - 01 Feb 2008 : 21:26:39
|
This cartoon bites big ones big time. But I must admit that there was one thing- I repeat ONE and only ONE -moment that made me sit up and go HELL YEAH!
and that was the cliff hanger. All the set up to that one shot at the end was just a stroke of genius. The perfect hook to get you keen for the second instalment.
If they ever do make a live action DOAT they must copy the cartoon and throw in the cliffhanger.
Speaking of that final shot, why does the location of evil look like Mordor? In the books wasn't the dragon army head base situated next to a Volcano?
Hmm and they wonder why the non fans are drawing comparisons to cartoon and LOTR.
Don't F*** with my truck! |
|
|
|
donbaloo
Starting Member
1 Posts |
Posted - 03 Feb 2008 : 15:06:50
|
Not really a review, just my positive thoughts...
Just wanted to say that I viewed the movie for the first time last night and it was a decent flick. Like most, I read the Chronicles long ago when they first arrived on the shelf and have read them a couple more times since then. Its been at least 5 years since I've last read them though so I had the luxury of watching the film without the books being fresh in my mind.
I'll admit that I was put off by all the negative commentary on the film which is why I didn't get around to even bothering to see it till now. However, my 12 year old brother in law bought the movie, and they spent the weekend with us this weekend so I had the chance to watch it. He loved the flick and is probably an even bigger fan of the books than I am.
My primary reaction to the film was...relief. After all the scorching negative reviews I'd read I was expecting something truly horrible. But that simply wasn't the case. Even had I known nothing about the general reception the film had received I think I would have been relatively pleased. I know going into it that its a 90 minute conversion of a full length novel and that its a straight to DVD release. Those two facts alone should have you in the proper frame of mind as far as what to expect.
The film was a fun little flick based on a great fantasy novel. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not an anime fan so I really didn't have any complaints about the animations. Its what I expect from an animated film, but granted I'm a bit older. I can see where younger folks or those into anime would maybe be disappointed but like I said, its exactly what I'd expect from a cartoon. Voices were all fine, the story was naturally heavily compressed as you'd expect for the adaptation of a novel but by no means horribly done, and the music was actually quite good.
No, its not a 3 hour long live action film. I think the Chronicles would look great in that format if properly screen written but this was a modestly budgeted production and for such it was fun to watch. I'm glad they finally managed to pull enough cash together to get it into production.
If you've been holding off because of all the bad press, do yourself a favor and pick it up. Unless you already know that the extremely compressed story and editing will be a downer for you, you'll probably enjoy this short film. |
|
|
|
Loki of the Lance
Junior Member
USA
173 Posts |
Posted - 07 Feb 2008 : 17:05:43
|
I saw it and did not like it. It was to childish and the animation was slow, they left out a lot of fighting and even showed fizban turn into paladine!!! Tika's boobs bouncing around were pretty funny though.
Est Sularas oth Mithos |
|
|
|
Topic |
|
Official Review Thread: POSITIVE
